Under the ‘Resources‘ tab, you can access fact sheets, information on key topics, information for consumers, and comparisons of key changes between the 2000 and 2016 Acts.

Mental Health Bill 2015

The Mental Health Bill 2015 was passed on 18 February 2016 when Parliament voted to introduce a range of new measures to help ensure better outcomes for mental health patients. The new legislation was introduced into Parliament last year, following extensive community consultation, which involved around 100 written submissions being received.

For further information, please refer to the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services, the Honourable Cameron Dick’s media release.

Key Points of the New Laws

provisions to ensure more mental health patients receive a recommendation for assessment from an authorised doctor before discharge from emergency departments

regulating provisions around the use of physical restraint in authorised mental health services;

reallocating the power to require a forensic patient to wear a GPS monitoring device from a public servant to the independent Mental Health Court and the Mental Health Review Tribunal;

strengthening the requirements for doctors to consult with families, carers and other support persons; and

clarifying powers of magistrates when dealing with minor offences allegedly committed by a person with a mental illness or an intellectual disability.

Independent Patient Rights Advisors

The Mental Health and Other Drugs Branch of the Department of Health has developed a list of Independent Patient Rights Advisors (IPRA) within the Hospital and Heath Services. This list is current as of May 2017.

Mental Health Act Implementation Team

The government has also established a Mental Health Act (MHA) Implementation Team. This team will manage the day-to-day aspects of implementation.

Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Senator Katy Gallagher, has sought a response from the government on a series of questions on notice regarding mental health reform, asserting that the review response did not contain a detailed implementation framework. The Senator’s full statement is available at Senate Debates, Answers to Questions on Notice.